The Minister of Environment, Mrs Laurentia Mallam, said on Tuesday that the support of the Zamfara government was critical to success of fighting desertification through the Great Green Wall (GGW) project.
Laurentia Mallam
Mallam said this when she met with the State Governor, Alhaji Abdulazeez Yari, at the Government House in Gasau, Zamfara.
According to her, desertification will have negative impact on the lives of people if it is not tackled with all seriousness.
“It (desertification) will affect a lot of activities; it will affect the lives of our people negatively.
“So Mr President, in his Transformation Agenda, has made it possible for the Federal Government, states and local governments to collaborate and see what can be done to fight the menace.
“So, we are here today to create awareness for the people of Zamfara State to support this noble programme and to encourage people to plant trees, encourage them to participate in this programme fully,”
The minister explained that desertification had come to the country through the 11 frontline states, including Zamfara.
She listed other frontline states as Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto and Yobe.
Mallam said the Federal Government would rehabilitate more than 22,000 hectares of degraded lands in the frontline states, under the GGW.
She pointed out that 11 countries, including Nigeria, would participate in constructing “a wall of trees’’, stretching 4,300 miles long and nine miles wide across the continent, from the Republic of Djibouti to Senegal.
The minister said countries such as Mali and Senegal had started reaping the benefits of the project.
She said Nigeria would likely learn the best practices in these countries and share experiences with them on the project.
Responding, the governor said: “it is compulsory for the states to join hands with the Federal Government to fight desertification.’’
The governor, therefore, urged other frontline states to do their best in making the project a success.
“We are trying to encourage each and every local government to engage at least between 300 and 500 youths in tree planting campaign.
“Without serious advocacy on this issue, people may not know what you are actually doing.
“Also, the major problem we have here, we are not planting trees but we are cutting the ones we own for cooking what to eat and taking them away for export.
“ In other countries, before you can cut any tree, you have to plant two or three, depending on the laws.’’
He further expressed willingness to partner with the Federal Government to address deforestation and desertification in the state.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that more that 40 million Nigerians are affected by desertification each year and this poses serious threats to their means of livelihood.
It is also reported that 43.3 per cent of the country is prone to desertification, with the frontline states facing the greatest hazards.
